Birding the Americas Trip
Report and Planning Repository
Return to the Main Index
Return to the North
America Index
Return to the Mexico Index
MEXICO -- CHIAPAS
26 February - 10 March 2004
by Mike Mulligan
Chiapas is Mexico's southernmost and economically poorest state,
in many ways more similar to neighboring Guatemala than to the rest of
the country. It's also much less birded than Yucatan, Quintana
Roo or Oaxaca states, or the famed Durango Highway east of
Mazatlan---in spite its rich and varied birdlife. Kim Risen and I
had never birded here, and had discussed and planned this adventure for
a couple years. We were most excited about the prospect of
finding the mythical Horned Guan and Cabanis's (Azure-rumped) Tanager
at El Triunfo as well as other Chiapas specialties.
Our group of seven birders flies to Tuxtla Gutierrez (Chiapas) from
Mexico City on February 26 where we're met by Kim. The group:
Marilynn Burke (Portland OR), David Davidson (San Antonio) and son
Daniel (Seattle), Doug Johnson (Bemidji MN), Steve Knight (Edmonton
AB), Peter Neubeck (Minneapolis) and myself. Most of us are old
tropical birding comrades.
Before making the El Triunfo trek we check out some other
locations. On our first full day (with a 5:30 start of course) we
make our way to Arriaga, exploring Laguna Belgica educational reserve,
La Cima de las Cotorras sinkhole and the surrounding foothills.
Today's birds (excluding most North American species) are Least Grebe,
White-tailed Hawk, Short-billed Pigeon, Green Parakeet, Squirrel
Cuckoo, Groove-billed Ani, Central American Pygmy-Owl, Canivet's
Emerald, Green-fronted Hummingbird, Citreoline Trogon, Collared
Aracari, Smoky-brown Woodpecker, Buff-throated and Ruddy
Foliage-gleaners, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Northern
Beardless-Tyrannulet, Bright-rumped Attila (heard), Boat-billed and
Social Flycatchers, Tropical Kingbird, Masked Tityra, our only Green
Shrike-Vireo, Brown Jay, Spot-breasted and Banded Wrens, Tropical
Mockingbird, Golden-crowned and Rufous-capped Warblers, both
Red-crowned and Red-throated Ant-Tanagers, White-winged Tanager, Scrub
and Yellow-throated Euphonias, Spot-breasted and Hooded Orioles,
Black-headed Saltator and several stunning Rose-bellied Buntings.
The next day we cover the road through Cabeza del Toro to Boca del
Cielo, a small coastal fishing village. After a lunch stop at
Puerto Arista we check out nearby lagoons and mangroves. A bit of
evening owling is not productive; we overnight at Arriaga. Lots
of common waterbirds and shorebirds today, but we also pick up Reddish
Egret, Boat-billed Heron in the mangroves, Wood Stork, Neotropic
Cormorant, Anhinga, Magnificent Frigatebird, Mangrove Black-Hawk,
Roadside Hawk, Crested Caracara, Laughing Gull, several terns
(Gull-billed, Caspian, Royal, Sandwich), Black Skimmer, White-winged
Dove, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Pacific and Orange-fronted Parakeets,
White-fronted and Yellow-naped Parrots, Cinnamon Hummingbird,
Golden-fronted and Lineated Woodpeckers, Common Tody-Flycatcher;
Vermilion, Dusky-capped and Nutting's Flycatchers, Great Kiskadee,
Mangrove Vireo, White-throated Magpie-Jay, Mangrove Swallow, Giant
Wren, Rufous-backed (Rufous-naped) Wren, Mangrove Warbler,
Yellow-breasted Chat, Altamira Oriole and Yellow-winged Cacique.
On Day Three we drive west, crossing briefly into Oaxaca, and bird the
Tapanatepec foothills. Then on to Tuxtla Gutierrez and the
comfortable Best Western Motel for overnight. We add White Ibis,
King Vulture, Double-toothed Kite; Gray, Short-tailed and Zone-tailed
Hawks, West Mexican Chachalaca, Northern Jacana, Golden-crowned
Emerald, Doubleday's (Broad-billed) Hummingbird, Long-billed
Starthroat, a Russet-crowned Motmot pair, Brown-crested and Flammulated
Flycatchers, Rufous-naped Wren, White-lored Gnatcatcher, Stripe-headed
Sparrow, Streak-backed Oriole (many), at least ten Orange-breasted
Buntings and sixteen Rose-bellied Buntings. The bunting display,
at times both species together, is spectacular.
At 6:00 am we're on our way to nearby Sumidero Canyon. Birding is
slow but we locate a rare male Blue Seedeater, a life bird for
me. After refreshments at the park's restaurant---with a view of
one of the world's deepest canyons---we drive southeast to the village
of Jaltenango. Also called Angel Albino Corzo, it's the gateway
to El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve. We stay the night at the only
place in town, aptly named Hotel El Triunfo. New birds this day
are White-tailed Kite, Red-billed Pigeon, White-throated Swift,
Azure-crowned and Berylline Hummingbirds, Violaceous Trogon (heard),
Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Black-capped Swallow from the canyon
restaurant, Ridgeway's (Northern) Rough-winged Swallow, Clay-colored
Robin, Yellow-winged Tanager, Olive Sparrow and Blue Bunting.
Well before sun-up on Day Five we're sort of enjoying a breakfast of
eggs, beans and tortillas and meeting Jorge Uribe, the "park ranger"
assigned to our group. The Reserve closely monitors visitors and
provides a ranger, a couple cooks, food and mules to haul in supplies
(for a fee). Jorge, a graduate biologist and excellent birder,
will stay with us the entire week. An indication of the
remoteness of El Triunfo: Jorge tells us that they average about 250
visitors a year, and of those less than 50 are birders. We 're
transported to the trailhead in a four-wheel-drive cattle truck, about
a two-hour endurance test over a primitive road. Food and gear
are loaded onto the mules (nine of them!) and we set out up the
trail. It's a tough hike, generally uphill (750-meter altitude
gain) but with lots of ups and downs. The distance is either 10
or 14 kilometers depending on whom you ask. It feels like 30, but
we manage some good birding on the way.
Six hours later we arrive at El Triunfo Camp, and it looks real good to
us. The camp consists of a dormitory with running water (actually
hot for an hour daily), a kitchen-dining building, and a research-dorm
structure. "Kitchen-dining" means an open-air structure with a
couple tables and benches, an open wood fire (it's smoky in there) and
a small propane stove. Our dormitory contains actual beds with
mattresses, but Kim is so excited that he pitches his tent outside and
sleeps in it each night---with the mules loose in the yard. Today
we record Black-Hawk-Eagle, Plain Chachalaca, White-tipped Dove,
Pheasant Cuckoo is heard only, Lesser Roadrunner, White-collared Swift,
Plain-capped Starthroat, Collared Trogon, both Tody and Blue-throated
Motmots, Black-banded and Streak-headed Woodcreepers, Barred Antshrike,
Paltry Tyrannulet, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Greater Pewee, Black
Phoebe, Gray-collared Becard, Brown-capped Vireo, Rufous-browed
Peppershrike, Green Jay, Plain Wren, Brown-backed Solitaire,
White-throated and Black Robins, Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, Blue-gray
Tanager, Green and Red-legged Honeycreepers, Blue-black Grassquit,
Rusty Sparrow, Grayish Saltator and Melodious Blackbird. A
Fulvous Owl is heard during the night.
The next three days (Six, Seven, Eight) we work the trails around El
Triunfo Camp: Finca Prussia trail, Bandera, Last Refuge and Palo Gordo
trails, Finca Prussia again---also the open camp area itself.
Long hikes, short walks. The birding is marvelous, the weather
holds, and the crew feeds us well. We're thrilled with several
fine views of Horned Guan and note all the marks: white finely streaked
breast, white tail band, bright red "horn" on top of head. We
even hear the call several times, a low hoot which reminds me of a
Great Curassow. Steve Howell (author, A Guide to the Birds of
Mexico and Northern Central America) calls this guan a "bizarre
cracid," and it truly is that.
One day we spot eight Highland Guans, another of the cracid family,
plus Singing Quail (heard), Band-tailed Pigeon, Green Violet-ear,
Black-crested Coquette (male, well-seen in bush near our dormitory),
Green-throated Mountain-Gem, Amethyst-throated and Wine-throated
Hummingbirds, Mountain Trogon, a displaying Resplendent Quetzal pair
near the dining building, Emerald Toucanet, Golden-olive Woodpecker,
Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Scaled
Antpitta (I snooze one morning and miss this jewel), Tufted and
Yellowish Flycatchers, Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo, daily
Black-throated Jays, Unicolored Jay, Rufous-browed Wren, Gray-breasted
Wood-Wren, Ruddy-capped and Spotted Nightingale-Thrushes, Mountain
Robin, Crescent-chested and Golden-browed Warblers, Slate-throated
Redstart, Common Bush-Tanager, Flame-colored Tanager, a Blue-crowned
Chlorophonia pair, Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer, Yellow-throated
Brush-Finch, Rufous-collared Sparrow and the endemic orange race of
Yellow Grosbeak. White-faced Quail-Doves are heard by all, seen
by some right in the camp yard.
Day Nine begins with an early breakfast. Mules are loaded and we
pack up and set off on La Costa trail. This takes us over the
Continental Divide (2100 meters) and down the Pacific side, a shorter
but steeper route than the one we ascended. Mid-afternoon we
arrive at Canada Honda camp and pitch our tents in the tropical
evergreen forest. En route we admire our last Horned Guan and add
Emerald-chinned Hummingbird, Sparkling-tailed Woodstar (Hummingbird),
Rufous-and-white Wren, Gray Silky-flycatcher, "Chestnut-capped"
subspecies of Rufous-capped Warbler, Elegant Euphonia and
Chestnut-capped Brushfinch. Our target bird at this location is
the rare and quite local Cabanis's (Azure-rumped) Tanager, but our
search is unsuccessful. We retire early---I'm always surprised
that I actually enjoy sleeping in a tent.
Following a fine field breakfast we look once more for our
tanager. It's finally spotted by a few. Today's walk is
about eight kilometers; downhill hiking is certainly easier! We
find the largest pit viper I've ever seen, probably a
fer-de-lance---and remain a respectful distance from it. Our goal
is Limonar camp, where we once again set up for overnight. The
day's highlight is a flock of approximately 35 Fan-tailed Warblers
following an antswarm. Many of these lovely birds remain on the
trail in full view, seemingly oblivious of our presence. Also new
today are Long-tailed Manakin, Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush and
White-eared Ground-Sparrow. Near the campsite we find both Rufous
and Violet Sabrewings. Kim hears a Mottled Owl calling in the
night.
It's a windy morning as we head for Paval camp near the village of Tres
de Mayo. Paval sits at 550 meters, a long downhill from
Limonar. The lower montane forest is warmer and more humid than
we've been accustomed to. After supper the stream near our
campsite hosts some birders discreetly scrubbing up---needed or
not. We find some good birds today: a total of six(!) King
Vultures, "White-breasted" Sharp-shinned Hawk, White Hawk, a striking
Solitary Eagle, a second look at a Black Hawk-Eagle, Highland Guan for
the sixth consecutive day, Pauraque, Blue-tailed Hummingbird, a final
Tody Motmot, Green Kingfisher at our bathing spot, Yellow-green Vireo,
Lesser Greenlet, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager and "White-faced" Prevost's
Ground-Sparrow near the campsite.
Day Twelve and it's time to go home. Take down tents, bird around
campsite (White-bellied Chachalaca noted by some, dozens of Vaux's
Swifts, Rose-throated Becard, Long-billed Gnatwren, White-collared
Seedeater). We walk a couple kilometers to trailhead, ride in
back of truck for two hours to Mapastepec, transfer to van, drive to
Tapachula. Overnight at pleasant Hotel Cabildo. Next day
fly to Mexico City, say good-byes, fly home.
Wonderful birding adventure!
Mike Mulligan
<potoo@shaw.ca>